World is Falling Apart Thread (Locked forever)

[prfsnl_gmr]

I'm wondering if I can come up with some packaging that would let me legally sell sugar pills as medication by referring to them as placebos in the right way.

Yes. Throw a few herbal extracts in there; package it like a prescription drug; make outlandish claims about its benefits; and add a disclaimer that none of your claims have been tested by the FDA and that the product is not intended to treat or cure any disease.

[Blu]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... e-research

Pretty appropriate for the thread's original title. Inb4 media bias.

This is pretty damn terrible if you are a scientist, what it may spell for the EPA, scientific research, and allowing room for the Scientific Method to be influenced by private industry.

[J T]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... e-research

Pretty appropriate for the thread's original title. Inb4 media bias.

This is pretty damn terrible if you are a scientist, what it may spell for the EPA, scientific research, and allowing room for the Scientific Method to be influenced by private industry.

Terrible. Shameful and terrible. I don't even have words for the disgust and rage this brings up in me.

[Exhuminator]

President-elect Donald Trump denied Tuesday that he did anything to "energize" the alt-right movement through his presidential campaign and sought to distance himself from it, even though many of the movement's leaders have sought to tether their political views to Trump's rise.
"I don't want to energize the group, and I disavow the group," Trump told a group of New York Times reporters and columnists during a meeting at the newspaper's headquarters in New York.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/22/politics/ ... index.html

[J T]

I read about that story on Breitbart today. The commenters over there have mixed opinions on this. Some are upset by the statement. Others seem to think that he is doing this to avoid what the media defines as alt-right, even though he is with the alt-right as they define it (otherwise, why else would he appoint Steve Bannon).

[J T]

Trump's nomination for head of the NSA is Michael Flynn.

Michael Flynn is highly concerned about ISIS, as the head of NSA should be, but my concern about him is that he crosses the line into Islamophobia far too often, and that he lacks the critical thinking skills to determine what is a terrorist threat and what is someone simply practicing their religion, as they are free to do. I do not believe in Islam as I also do not believe in any religion that requires belief in invisible supernatural entities. But I also don't hate Muslims, just as I don't hate Christians either. They operate on a different belief set than me, but I greatly value our freedom of religion. I have the freedom to be agnostic and practice zen, and I greatly value that freedom. I also value our separation of church and state, because it protects religious freedom and because it requires our laws and ethics to be formulated around principles we can all agree on, regardless of religious affiliation.

My concern with the Michael Flynn appointment is that he fails to maintain separation of church and state by seeming to take a Christians VS Muslims attitude, rather than a simple anti-terrorism attitude. Given the enormous scope of the NSA's spying eyes into all of our lives, it worries me to have someone at the head of that agency that has transparent biases. Like Trump, he posts a lot of fanatical stuff on his Twitter account. As just one example, a post of his that I saw said "Fear of Muslims is RATIONAL" and then linked to a YouTube video of the same name, which went on to describe every mass shooting/bombing where a Muslim was involved (but obviously left out every other mass shooting/bombing that did not involve a Muslim, thus trying to convince you that only Muslims are capable of terrorism). The NSA should be headed by someone who can view a situation objectively and avoid false-positives in identifying terrorists so that the agency doesn't end up doing more harm than good. Some false positives are probably inevitable, given the high risk of not catching terrorists, but it should always be a goal to avoid falsely identifying people as terrorists who are not actually terrorists. This is the real danger of Islamophobia. People should not be targets simply because of their faith.

Michael Flynn was also very critical of Hillary Clinton and encouraged citizens to be her "judge and jury" (his words) rather than accepting the results of the FBI investigations into her e-mails, which cleared her of illegal wrongdoing after an extensive investigative and legal process. Again, I see this as a lack of fairness on Flynn's part and a willingness to let bias and personal feelings override his critical judgment.

[marurun]

And yet, Bannon is still a key confidant. The words are helpful and necessary, but the denial of responsibility and his cabinet appointments suggest this is just lip service. We will have to see if his policy initiatives back this up.

[CRTGAMER]

Oh come on, mostly celebrities! Part of the Political Machine that needs fixed.

http://deadline.com/2016/11/presidentia ... 201855662/

President Barack Obama today unveiled 21 recipients for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor presented to those “who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.” This list is loaded with Hollywood figures: Tom Hanks, Ellen DeGeneres, Robert De Niro, Lorne Michaels, Robert Redford, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully and Cicely Tyson.

What's the problem? Those celebrities certainly seem to fit the criteria.

It does meet the minimal criteria, but cheapens the real purpose of the Medal. Though just a few non entertainers were there, the MAJORITY of the recipients really should be Scientists, Engineers, Doctors, Law Enforcement and others people behind the "TV Scenes" that truly made a difference. Just look at the coverage by the News Media which showed videos of the Actors, Musicians and Basketball Players. No detail on the few Engineers, I had to Google Richard Garwin and Margaret Hamilton since the media placed that celebrity shadow.

The medals handed out to all of the Hollywood reps almost felt to me like a "Thank you for supporting the Democratic Party."; gaah what a travesty and so out of touch.

Just finished watching President Obama giving a Pardon to two rightful recipients. Two Turkeys saved from the dinner plate. I wonder what other turkeys will get a last minute Presidential Pardon?

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You don't have to join Twitter or favor Trump, a simple click to see his views as the next President. Daily feeds for the entire world to judge unedited by the Media. President Obama did the same, but not to the extent of Trump. Looking forward to Trump's next YouTube post!

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/

One final point, Trump is smart to bypass the media. Not because it is biased against him, but because it will keep him from having to answer questions about his administration and his policy proposals from anyone besides his most fawning supporters. Keep that in mind the next time he releases a YouTube video about how great he's doing.

This is why I like Trump's method of reaching the public. He is judged on what he puts out unedited. Any questions asked back to his Twitter or YouTube postings are from the public and not self serving media. Yes, he can decide to answer or not; a smart move on his part.

Yeah, isn't it great that Trump doesn't have to defend his positions from inquiry?

The big three ABC, CBS and NBC are Democrat Biased while Fox is Republican biased
On NBC News last night a repeat video showed a group of White Nationalists "Hail Trump" with a few raising Hitler Salutes. The news reported that Trump disapproved of the organization all the while showing a still photo of Trump and digital zooming in to someone in the background hand up in the same fashion. Irresponsible Journalism! It was a screen capture timed just right of a Campaign Video with Trump waving to the crowd!

As Trump has stated, If "Not Nice", I will not give the media my time. Trump should just snub the media except for maybe once in a while, the questions asked by reporters do not represent enough coverage for what the nation really wants to know. Too many times, the media attempts to sway the people they interview to their agenda in changing policy.

With Twitter and YouTube ANYONE can post immediate comments and questions DIRECTLY to Trump. Now that is power for everyone to push the Nation's policies.

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On the topic of how some try to control agendas of others - The senators need to remember what President Obama stated concerning judgement of who Trump should pick:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... annotated/

President Obama - "I think it's fair to say that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on every appointment that the president-elect starts making if I want to be consistent with the notion that we are going to try to facilitate a smooth transition. Donald Trump will be the next president, the 45th President of the United States. And it will be up to him to set up a team that he thinks will serve him well and reflect his policies. And those who didn't vote for him have to recognize that that's how democracy works. That's how this system operates."

Reading Trump's Twitter, I really wish Dr. Ben Carson was picked as the Surgeon General instead of the HUD Request. He is perfect due to his Medical expertise and compassion for also overseeing whatever happens to Government Health Care. FIX IT; Take care of the sick and quit handing out free Birth Control Pills, Stomach Bypass and other cosmetic surgeries. Either position, I hope Carson joins the team, his intellect and level demeanor so important.

[J T]

Most of what was alarming about Trump's campaign came direct from his Twitter account. You didn't really need the media to explain why it was bad. Most of my critiques of Trump have been based off of his campaign website or things he said on Twitter or during the debates on TV.

[J T]

Why do you dislike free birth control pills?! That's a fantastic program. The world is way too overpopulated as it is. Overpopulation is one of the biggest problems we face today. The world population is almost double what it was when I was born. We don't need more women having babies they don't really want, especially when they come from dead beat "dads" who skip town as soon as she misses a period. Then you just have more welfare expenses down the line. You should just be glad that you don't have to be the one swallowing the pills.